When they say it’s not about the money, it’s always about the money.
And when they say it’s about the money, they mean the guaranteed money.
That is and always has been the key to the ongoing negotiations between the Giants and running back Saquon Barkley. Focusing on the yearly average of a potential multiyear contract is not the central issue.
How much money the Giants are willing to guarantee their top offensive player is the difference between a deal getting done or falling by the wayside before the deadline at 4 p.m. this coming Monday.
The best offer thus far from the Giants, as far as guaranteed money, is $19.5 million, according to The Post’s Ryan Dunleavy.
The franchise tag the Giants placed on Barkley will pay him $10.1 million for the 2023 season — if Barkley signs the tender.
If the Giants opt to put the franchise tag on Barkley again in 2024, it would be worth $12.1 million.
That two-year value of $22.2 million can be seen as the starting point for any guaranteed money Barkley wants before he signs a new deal.
Thus far, the Giants are not at that figure. They have offered about $13 million a year, but the guarantees are not where Barkley wants them to be.
Barkley, 26, is feeling the squeeze that has infiltrated the running back market.
There is no such squeeze with quarterbacks. Daniel Jones, when facing an impending contract negotiation earlier this offseason that was expected to test his relationship with the Giants, changed agents.
He hired Athletes First as his representation and parted ways with Creative Artists Agency.
Jones and his new agency got a deal done, as Jones signed a four-year contract worth $160 million to remain the franchise quarterback.
Jones’ good friend, Barkley, has gone down a similar path.
Earlier during the talks with the Giants, Barkley added CAA to a negotiating team that already included Roc Nation, The Post confirmed.
Previously, CAA handled Barkley’s marketing interests, but did not delve into his contract negotiations with the Giants.
At present, both Roc Nation and CAA represent Barkley.
It is not as if adding CAA immediately sparked movement in negotiations between the sides. Talks have been relatively quiet.
After the deadline, Barkley cannot sign a multiyear deal and must play on the one-year franchise tag, unless he opts for the nuclear option of not signing the tender and then sitting out the season — à la Le’Veon Bell in 2018.
If the deadline comes and goes without a new deal, the expectation is Barkley will not immediately sign the tender and will not report to training camp July 25 with his teammates.
At the bye week in early November last season, Barkley turned down an offer averaging $12.5 million per year.
That annual average was bumped up to $13 million in an offer after the season. Barkley also turned down that increased offer, as his representation at the time might have misjudged where the market for running backs was headed.
That $13 million per year offer was taken off the table — both sides were aware that would happen — as the Giants went about their offseason business. Now, the clock is ticking on a potential new deal.
